Library
| upkeep_cost = | sells_for = | effects = Increases a town's Research Points output by . | building_unlock = }} The Library is a type of Town Building. The Library may be built by any race in any town. A town must already contain a Builders' Hall in order to construct a Library. The Library's base construction cost is . The Library itself provides per turn, applied directly to the current Research effort undertaken by the town's controlling wizard. It is not much of an investment, given that the Library has an Upkeep Cost of , but the cumulative effect of having many Libraries can be quite noticeable. Furthermore, the Library is the first step down the intellectual development branch. It leads to the Sages' Guild, and later to the University, which is absolutely crucial for races that have access to it. Libraries are normally built in as many towns as can be afforded, even if the University is not available at all. As mentioned above, the Library requires an Upkeep Cost of per turn for its maintenance. If you're pressed for Gold, a Library can be sold back for . Description A Library is a structure dedicated to the storage and management of written texts. In other words, it stores a large number of books and scrolls containing information about magical spells, and gives scholars a suitable (and quiet!) environment in which to study these texts. As a result, scholars can better understand and decipher the workings of the magical realms. The Library itself is a large, three-storey brick structure, with a flat grey roof and many tall windows lining its sides. At the front is an elegant stairwell leading into the building. Two simple golden statues beckon visitors into this world of knowledge. Races and Construction All Races in the game have access to the Library, which is seen as a hallmark of any civilization. Although some Races can go far beyond the Library in terms of the learning centers they can build, but the Library is the most essential first step for any race wishing to preserve and propagate knowledge amongst its scholars. A town requires the Builders' Hall before it can build a Library, due to the complexity of constructing such fine masonry. If the Builders' Hall is missing, the Library cannot be built. In fact, if the Builders' Hall is lost or sold off while the Library is still in construction, the project will be canceled prematurely and cannot be restarted until these required buildings are rebuilt. Construction of a Library costs . Thanks to its low costs, it can be built early by any wizard seeking to further his knowledge more rapidly, and an empire can afford to put Libraries in many of its cities with little fuss. Continuous Effects The presence of a Library in a town increases that town's output of Research Points by per turn. This is equivalent to putting into Research, but of course does not take any at all. Instead, the Library has an Upkeep Cost of per turn to offset its benefit. Increased Research Points naturally speeds up Research, thus allowing a wizard to acquire new spells more quickly. A single Library is not a lot, but during the early game can be of great aid in researching Common Spells. As a wizard's Research moves on to more complex spell-casting however, that wizard will likely want to build more and more Libraries to speed things up some more, or advance further by building Sages' Guilds, for which the Library is a requirement (see below). Note that the 2:1 ratio between and means that a Library is not terribly efficient - giving only a slight benefit over putting actual into research. Still, it burns off (which is sometimes abundant) instead of (which is harder to get). Of course, Alchemist wizards actually get a net benefit here, essentially paying for - twice as efficient as putting into . Unlocked Town Buildings As soon as it is constructed, the Library unlocks construction of a Sages' Guild, for those races that have access to this structure. The Sages' Guild is a more advanced form of Library, also converting a into (though at a lesser efficiency). However, the Sages' Guild has the added benefit of allowing the use of Nightshade to towns that have access to this mineral. Furthermore, the Sages' Guild will unlock the University for some races - an extremely important structure. Thus construction of the Library is often an important undertaking as well. Unlocked Normal Units The Library unlocks no new units for any race, not even in conjunction with other Town Buildings. Depending on how far down the intellectual branch a town can get, however, it may lead towards the production of Magicians - but this will take much more effort than just building a Library! Strategy The Library is the most cost-effective building in the game, with a cost of per point of . By comparison, the Sages' Guild costs , the University costs , and the Wizards' Guild costs a ridiculous (counting the upkeep as lost ). Thus, it will usually be worth constructing a Library in every town you own. However, the Library does not directly contribute to the growth of the town, so if you are trying to build up a town as fast as possible you may wish to delay building the Library. The more Spellbooks a wizard has, the more incentive he/she has to build Libraries early - and to build as many as possible. Essentially, by the mid-game it should be possible to construct a Library in every single town - giving a significant cumulative output of . This is used either for speeding up Research or for freeing up points for other things, like creating more or increasing Spell Skill. Naturally, races that cannot advance beyond a Library or Sages' Guild have a lesser incentive to rush towards building them. Still, even such races will likely benefit from getting at least a few Libraries up and running. The only empires that have no incentive to do so belong to wizards who rely on very little magic if any - for example Troll empires commanded by Famous Warlords, et cetera. Oddly enough for a scholarly building, a Library will frequently be wanted in military towns, because it's a prerequisite for two military structures: the Alchemists' Guild and the War College. This can be ignored for races that can build neither structure. Category:Town Buildings